A/N- Hey, guys. Sorry this took a while. I'll try to update the next chapter sooner. Please review, let me know what you think!
"I can't skip again," I reply, stopping several yards away from the door. "I skipped yesterday and today already."
"Come on, it's a special occasion," Kenny replies, grinning.
"No, it isn't. It's just a normal weekday."
"It's someone's birthday somewhere, or someone's anniversary. Or maybe someone just got promoted. Anyway, we need to celebrate!"
I can't help but notice how pretty his eyes are when he's excited. It makes me tempted to leave with him. "Kenny, I can't."
He leans in a bit and touches my arm. "You can always make up a missed class. You can't make up a missed opportunity for adventure."
"You're going to keep pestering me until I agree, aren't you?" I say, trying to sound annoyed, but I can't help smiling. I know I'd rather go with him than stay here. If I could, I'd follow him anywhere.
"Oh, definitely," he says, his smile growing. He slips his hand into mine and pulls me out the door.
We get into his car and he almost immediately speeds out of the parking lot, narrowly missing hitting a few parks cars.
I grab anything that feels stable and glare at him. "I see you're back to your normal driving habits," I manage to get out, though my voice sounds as strained as Tweek's.
He laughs. "It's a special occasion, Ky! Enjoy it!"
"How can enjoy almost dying?" I practically shout at him.
"The adrenaline, the wind on your face," he replies. "Try to tell me it doesn't feel freeing."
"You're insane," I say.
"Maybe," he answers, a little quietly, but still smiling.
"Where are we going anyway?" I say, trying my best to calm down as he speeds and swerves right out of town.
"You'll see," he says.
"Oh, come on, you can't drag me out of school and drive like a maniac and still not tell me where we're going!" I reply a little calmer, I think because of the ridiculousness of the situation.
He laughs. "Sure I can!"
"Please, Ken?" I say.
He glances at me and sighs and his smile seems to disappear instantaneously. His whole demeanor changes. He become a little colder, distant and any spontaneity and enthusiasm seems to be gone. "You wanted to know where I go when I disappear, right?"
That shuts me up. My heart pounds and I stare straight ahead. Trees and hills and mountainsides speed past in my peripheral vision and I get lost in my thoughts and my excitement and my panic before I realize we've gone a bit off road and Kenny is speeding up.
"Kenny?" I say tentatively.
He doesn't respond and we're going even faster.
"Kenny, what are you doing?" I say urgently.
He says nothing. His eyes are dark and humorless. I notice that in the distance, the path we're going on stops abruptly. It takes me a couple moments to realize it's a cliff.
"Kenny, what's happening?" I say, my voice raising. I press my foot into the floor of the car as though I could brake from the passenger's side.
We're getting close. He's speeding. My heart is beating so fast. My breath catches in my chest and I feel panicked and dizzy, like I might pass out.
"Kenny, stop!" I yell. "Stop! What are you doing?"
He slams his foot on the brake and I jerk forward and my head hurts. I almost feel like crying but I can barely breathe so I guess that stops it.
"That's step one," he says softly.
Practically hyperventilating, I stare at him. "What?" I say finally.
"When I disappear," he replies, not looking at me. He's just staring off the cliff. "This is the first thing I do. Sometimes, I get closer to driving off the edge than other times."
I don't know what to say, so I don't answer. We sit there, staring at the view for a while. Once I calm down because I'm no longer about to die, I realize how pretty the view is. I don't know how long we stay there, but after a while, Kenny turns the car around and drives calmly back to the road.
He continues driving normally, slowing down at turns. I think he's driving a little bit under the speed limit. We don't talk. I don't know what to say to him right now. He hasn't smiled again yet.
We drive for a while. I don't know how long exactly because I haven't looked at the time since we left school. I feel like we must have been gone at least an hour. Lunch has probably ended.
We end up pulling in to the driveway of an abandoned house. Kenny gets out of the car without a word, so I do, too. My legs feel weak and I guess I haven't fully recovered from his almost driving off the edge.
He calmly walks inside the house, looking incredibly relaxed but deeply unhappy. I follow him in slowly, a little uncertain that he wants me to follow.
The interior is strange. It has a couch with holes in it, a big rug, and a single lamp with no lightbulb. There are some cardboard boxes strewn around the room. Broken glass litters the floor and all except one of the windows are boarded up. Kenny stands in the middle of the room, his back to me. Neither of us move for a couple minutes, but then I can't hold back.
"This is where you go?" I ask.
"Yes," he says, his voice quiet.
"Do you sleep on the couch?"
"Yes."
"What do you eat?"
"There's a diner a few miles away. I go there when I need to."
"Kenny?" I say, taking a few steps forward. "Why?"
He shrugs and turns towards me. He smiles, but it's not his usual big grin. He doesn't say anything for a while, and I almost ask again.
"Hey, Ky?" he says, moving closer to me.
"Yeah?" I say and I feel out of breath again.
"You're the only person I've showed this to. Don't tell anyone about it, okay?"
"Of course," I reply.
Without warning, Kenny pulls me in close and kisses me.